Marking a milestone

In addition to today being the Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Armistice Day, and Veteran's Day, it is my birthday. It's my 60th one to be exact. That seems incredible to me to the point of being unbelieveable.

For a number of years I composed some pretty dense posts on my birthday. I haven't done that for a number of years. Rest easy, I am not going to do that today either.

Since this is my 20th year of year blogging, I have been doing this for a third of my life. That, too, seems unbelievable. But when something works, it works. Yes, I remain committed to my "blogspot page," substack smart asses notwithstanding. Besides, this is not a moneymaking or platform-building endeavor. It's for whoever wants to read it. As I have stated probably too much, this is a vehicle of growth for me personally.

While I still don't consider myself old, I am old enough to know that life is a strange journey. While my life isn't strange in any remarkable way, I have certainly gone through many phases, eras, transitions, ups and downs, etc. On the whole I have been both blessed and lucky. I am also not young.

Basilica of Saint Martin in Tours, France

This year, as consistent readers know, has been fitting for my sixtieth. There have been a lot of things swirling around, many things to discern as I begin a new decade. This makes life more interesting. When it comes to work and finances, I tend to play things very safely. The change I am looking to make, while it has some risk, isn't all that risky. Change, as they say, is hard.

Like most people, I suppose, I am not where I think I should be in many aspects of life. I guess there's the lazy assumption that you reach a point at which you've figured it out. For me, there is either no such point or not only have I not reached it, it isn't even in sight. But this, too, helps make my life worth living.

As a Christian, I am learning the fruitfulness of Eugene Peterson's long obedience in the same direction. A successful pilgrmage requires the pilgrim to keep on walking. Faltingly and haltingly, I follow the Galilean confident that I will enter that sabbath rest.

Saint Martin of Tours followed Christ. It changed his life completely. Saint Martin, until quite recently, one of Europe's most revered saints. On 11 November 2007, Pope Benedict XVI ended his Angelus address on Saint Martin with this exhortation:

that all Christians may be like St Martin, generous witnesses of the Gospel of love and tireless builders of jointly responsible sharing